On Monday night, the Oklahoma Sooners set out to defend home court against the visiting West Virginia Mountaineers. Preparing for a physical outing, Trae Young’s health came into question despite playing 36 minutes. Coming down to the wire, it would be the Mountaineers securing the 75-73 victory. With the loss, the Sooners’ 14-game home winning streak comes to an end dropping them to 2-5 over the past seven games.
In the first half, West Virginia put on a clinic on the offensive side of the court. Exploiting a few weaknesses, Lamont West knocked down 5-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc. Collecting 15 of his 17 points in the span, the sophomore helped the ‘Eers build a ten point lead at the half. From that point forward, the offensive performance suffered as the Oklahoma defense took over.
Forcing a couple of shot clock violations, the Sooners continued defending late into the shot clock on each possession. The move paid off as WVU shot 26.5% from the floor and 8.3% from beyond the arc in the final twenty minutes of play. Making the most of the opportunity, a sick Young connected on a couple of long three’s to energize the crowd. Pouring in 32 points, the freshman willed his team back into the contest.
Only Brady Manek, another freshman, would eclipse the double-digit barrier in scoring in support of Young’s effort. In the end, the effort proved to be too little too late. The bench output from Oklahoma continues to be a point of contention with this program moving forward.
OU faces Iowa State for the first time this season in a road contest. Can Lon Kruger’s program return to their winning ways?